The Consultant Who Raised His Rates by 50% and Doubled His Leads in Just 7 Months

The Problem and The Solution

Back in 2024, consultant Bruce Ashford had a problem. He’d been running The Ashford Agency for around 3 years, helping nonprofits and small businesses grow. He was good at what he did. But his business was stuck.

All his clients came from referrals. He had no lead generation system. No email sequences. No CRM.

He knew what needed to be done, but he kept putting it off.

“I could coach people on doing all kinds of things in marketing and messaging and general business consulting,” Bruce says, “but I hadn’t developed the micro skills to actually do some of those things for my own business.”

Then Bruce joined Coach Builder. Within months, he raised 2 of his retainers by 50%. He built his first automated lead generation system that grew his contact base by 150%. And he created a business that actually works without him chained to his desk.

Today, Bruce helps CEOs and Executive Directors of nonprofits with budgets from $3M to $100M, plus startup entrepreneurs. And he’s not scrambling for clients anymore. He’s fully booked out.

Stuck in the Referral-Only Trap

Bruce knew his stuff. He had 19 years of executive experience. He understood marketing, messaging, and strategy better than most consultants.

But when it came to his own business, there were 4 main problem areas:
 

1. No Lead Generation: “When I came into Coach Builder, all of my business came from endorsements and referrals. And I knew I needed to generate leads, but I lacked the micro skills.”

2. CRM Overwhelm: Bruce had avoided setting up a CRM for two years. “I didn’t know how to operate a CRM and felt overwhelmed trying to learn it.”

3. Email Paralysis: “Just the thought of going ahead and getting 52 emails put together, figuring out what the subject matter is going to be. I just never did it.”

4. Task Avoidance: Bruce spent time perfecting what he was already good at while avoiding the business tasks that scared him.

Sound familiar?

Bruce had the classic consultant problem: great at helping others, terrible at helping himself.

What Coach Builder Actually Did

Coach Builder didn’t just give Bruce more information. He already knew what to do. What he got was accountability and a system that inspired him to act.

Here’s what changed:

✅ Accountability: “Coach Builder served as accountability because I was surrounded by all of these people and I didn’t have any excuses anymore.”

✅ Bias Toward Action: “Coach Builder helped me have a bias toward action… I act a lot more quickly, and I don’t have that paralysis of analysis.

✅ Done-for-You Email Templates: Coach Builder gave him the 52-email sequence he’d been avoiding for years, plus the training to set it up

✅ Product Ladder Strategy: “Coach Builder taught me the importance of having a product ladder. I didn’t have a product ladder.”

The Results Came Fast

🔥 50% Rate Increases
“Two of my retainers from the year before, I was able to upgrade those by 50% each for the coming year.”

🔥 Automated Lead Generation
Bruce created an ebook called “The Top Five Mistakes Nonprofits Make and How to Fix Them.” It started generating leads immediately, no paid ads needed. His contact database grew 150% from that first lead magnet alone.

🔥 Email System That Works
Bruce customized Coach Builder’s email templates for his audience. Now he gets “two or three responses a week” and “a couple times a month, somebody calls me” asking about fractional work.

🔥 Clear Business Structure
Bruce built two product ladders: one for business consulting, one for marketing and content creation.

Real Client Win: The Turnaround Story

A well-known nonprofit that had been declining for 15 years. They hired Bruce as a fractional marketing consultant. But Bruce quickly saw the real problem went deeper than marketing.

Using the Small Business Flight Plan framework, Bruce discovered they were confusing their donors with messages meant for program participants. Classic nonprofit mistake.

After Bruce fixed their messaging, they saw immediate results: more website visitors and much longer time on page.

The win was so big they promoted Bruce from fractional marketing consultant to fractional Chief Operations Officer. Now he’s helping them fix all six areas of their business.

How Bruce Actually Works

Bruce’s approach is simple: listen first, diagnose with frameworks, then nurture with value.

“When I follow up a call with a written proposal, what draws people in most is the fact that they could tell I really listened to them.”

He uses the Small Business Flight Plan to quickly identify which of the six key areas need fixing instead of guessing. And instead of aggressive sales, Bruce adds value through emails. The result? Prospects call him instead of the other way around.

For nonprofits, Bruce adapted the Flight Plan framework to handle their unique challenge: they need to communicate with both program participants and donors.

A Week in Bruce’s Business

Bruce spends about 70% of his time on client work, delivering results that surprise clients and earn referrals.

Another 10% goes to business development, including his “dream client” strategy: personally reaching out to one of 30 target organizations per week with genuine interest, not generic pitches.

He also carves out time for continuing education, learning from other Coach Builder members and staying current with tools like AI.

But here’s the best part: “If I need to take my son to a pro football game and miss a Monday, I can miss a Monday anytime I want to.”

What You Can Learn from Bruce

Bruce’s story proves a simple truth: knowing what to do isn’t enough. You need accountability and systems that encourage you to act.

Key lessons:
 

“Coach Builder forced me to have a bias toward action… once I started acting, being held accountable to just do what needed to be done, even if it wasn’t perfect, I received a lot of benefits.” — Bruce Ashford

Ready to build a business that actually works? Coach Builder gives you the frameworks, accountability, and community to stop winging it and start winning consistently. Schedule a call here.